1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of missile control and guidance systems, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for testing missile systems.
2. Description of Related Art
One area of particular importance in missile technology is that of missile guidance systems. These systems are used for controlling the direction of missiles in flight. Some guidance systems sense the contrast in emitted or reflected radiation between the target and the surroundings to control trajectory. These types of guidance systems are often used when the targets are either airplanes or ships. Other types of guidance systems use predetermined geographical or celestial information to guide missiles. In command guidance systems, a ground station or a plane tracks both the missile and target so as to be able to generate and transmit the appropriate instructions to direct the missile to the target. Other types of guidance systems, such as beam rider guidance systems, are also often used.
In some of the latest tactical missiles, such as AMRAAM and Phoenix, all means for tracking a maneuvering target and guiding the missile to the target are contained within the missile itself. Thus, a fighter pilot would typically acquire a target, launch a missile and then be free to engage other targets. "Smart" missiles, as described above, use one or more data processors (hereinafter "ADP") located within a missile to process information relating to missile and target trojectories. Each ADP executes a stored collection of programs which enable the ADP to send the appropriate control signals to various actuators which control missile flight. The ADPs are generally used in conjunction with a program memory and an operand memory. The program memory is used to store the instructions which are executed by the ADP, while the operand memory is used to store the data which the instructions in the program memory execute. The ADP communicates with the operand memory through an operand memory-data bus and an operand memory-address bus. Similarly, the ADP communicates with the program memory through a program memory-address bus and a program memory-data bus. Because missile guidance systems often require a relatively sophisticated analysis of data, the software used in connection with the ADP is often relatively complex and may involve a relatively long development time. One method for reducing the development time for ADP software is to use software emulating systems. Such software emulating systems generally emulate the activity of the ADP so that intermediate or terminal results can be compared with the expected results. By comparing the actual results with the expected results, it is possible to determine whether the software is properly functioning.
While such software emulating systems did reduce the development time for ADP software, they often did not provide several features which would further expedite ADP software development. For example, these systems did not allow real-time collection of information appearing in the various address and data buses. In addition, software emulating systems did not generally allow the contents of the program memory to be dumped onto an external memory so that the contents of the program memory could be examined. Further, because such software emulating systems did not generally permit in situ testing of the ADP software, it was not often possible to determine whether the ADP's program or operand memory was damaged during installation. Finally, such systems could not be used for testing the operability of the hardware which was controlled by the ADP.